Page 9 - Paws & Hooves - Spring 2021

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HAS IMPACT
Epilepsy: a a decade of work at the RVC Rowena Packer Lecturer in in Companion Animal Behaviour and and Welfare Science and and BBSRC Research Fellow reflects on on on the the RVC’s pioneering epilepsy research which has been partly funded by the the RVC RVC Animal Care Trust R R esearchers and and and clinicians at at the RVC have devoted over a a a a a a a a decade of of work to improving our understanding of of epilepsy in in in in in dogs and and cats including
better characterisation of this chronic disorder developing technology to aid its long-term management for vets and and owners and and identifying fresh new ways to manage manage this age- old disorder Epilepsy is is the the most common chronic neurological disease in in in dogs dogs dogs affecting around around 0 0 0 0 6% of the the the 8 9 million dogs dogs dogs in in in the the UK (around 53 000 dogs) Dogs with epilepsy experience recurrent seizures which are most commonly managed by anti-seizure drugs (ASDs) with the aim of of reducing how how often and how how severely affected dogs have seizures Unfortunately around a a a a a third of these dogs will continue to to seizure despite medical treatment sparking a a a a a a a a quest for non-drug therapies to to to improve the the the quality of of life of of the the the hardest-to-treat dogs dogs while also effectively supporting owners’ managing dogs dogs with this often-distressing disease The RVC has been pivotal in in in in reframing both the wider understanding of epilepsy as as as a a a a a a a a a a a brain disease and and in in in in pioneering new approaches to its treatment We now now know that seizures are just one one clinical sign in in in in in a a a a a a a a a a a complex network of brain changes changes including
behavioural and cognitive changes changes such as as impaired learning ability Based on these findings behavioural and cognitive outcomes
are now embedded fin in in in epilepsy clinical trial
design alongside traditional measures of seizure frequency and severity The RVC has been pivotal in in in the the game-changing development of dietary therapies for canine epilepsy and ground-breaking clinical trials have demonstrated the positive effects of diet not only on on on on on seizure frequency but also on on on on on behaviour and cognition RVC research has taken a a a a a a a a multidisciplinary approach to understanding the effect of epilepsy Paws & Hooves Spring 2021
on on human caregivers: from measuring their their stress response to to to their their dog having a a a a a a seizure to to to more recently undertaking in-depth owner interviews to to to qualitatively explore how their their own own lives have been impacted by their their dog’s epilepsy These findings will inform future efforts to more effectively support canine caregivers As well as offering medical expertise in in epilepsy management at RVC RVC Small Animal Animal Referrals and the the the Beaumont Sainsbury Animal Animal Hospital the the the RVC RVC is now using the the the the latest technologies to advance healthcare in in in in pets including
the the development of smartphone technologies to help owners and and vets better record and and manage epilepsy We anticipate that this exciting work including
the development of of “wearable tech” will lead to transformations in in in in in the the care of of epilepsy patients in the the future The RVC Animal Care Trust is also funding
a a a a a a a a PhD studentship investigating the the effects of of behavioural interventions in in in in in in the the the the treatment of of drug- resistant canine epilepsy exploring whether these interventions can can reduce seizure frequency and improve co-morbid anxiety in in epilepsy patients Owners and vets interested in in the the latest epilepsy trials are encouraged to contact the the team on on epilepsyreset@rvc ac ac uk With RVC’s epilepsy epilepsy research pushing the boundaries of veterinary medicine we we are confident we we will continue to to be world-leading for years to come 9